4304. M32 roundabout J3 (392)

I’m trying to be as contemporary as I possibly can be, but am still a day late – Happy St Patrick’s Day for yesterday. I accelerated this piece through my pipeline, so that I could publish it today, having photographed it only yesterday afternoon. This cheerful and very green piece is, of course, by the brilliant graffiti writer Dibz.

Dibz, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022
Dibz, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022

The star of the show is obviously the character, who takes centre stage, and distracts a little from the squeaky clean lines and seamless fill fades of the letters DIBZ. One of the things I like most about Dibz’ pieces is that they simply ooze confidence and competence, this is someone at the top of his game.

Dibz, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022
Dibz, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022

The character might be accused of being a little bit stereotypical, but it is a caricature the likes of which will be replicated across the world in places under the sphere of Irish influence. The pointy ears would suggest that this is a leprechaun enjoying a pint of grog. The FUA belt is a rather nice little touch. Superb work from Dibz.

4303. Greenbank (28)

The blue and yellow colours used in this piece give it away as another reference to the war in Ukraine. There is so much to like about this scene, by Sled One, painted alongside Smak, and it is typically full of fine detail and great composition, let alone the outstanding execution.

Sled One, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2022
Sled One, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2022

I have noticed that Sled One does enjoy painting cheese, and he has excelled himself with this cheese character, full of holes and a couple of cheeky mice. His work is always fantastical, combining characters with abstract shapes sprinkled with surrealism and always with outstanding results. I like that this piece references Ukraine, without being in your face, it demonstrates that there are so many ways to support the Ukrainians.

4302. The Carriageworks (43)

I am clinging to every minute that the Carriageworks continues to be a street art spot. This iconic site on the Cheltenham Road has been redeveloped, but the arches of the original Carriageworks have been retained. Before the site was developed, the arches became a fabulous canvass for artists in Bristol and beyond. Two or three years under scaffolding, it seemed like we’d never see the wall again, but recently the scaffolding was removed and the wall returned to artists. I don’t know how long it will be before anti-graffiti paint and CCTV appear, but let’s make hay while the sun shines.

3Dom, The Carriageworks, Bristol, March 2022
3Dom, The Carriageworks, Bristol, March 2022

3Dom is known for his amazing ‘other world’ type pieces where his imaginative characters exist in unusual or surreal settings. This magnificent piece is clearly a reference to the terrible war in Ukraine, but is rather more subtle in its messaging than some anti-war pieces.

3Dom, The Carriageworks, Bristol, March 2022
3Dom, The Carriageworks, Bristol, March 2022

The creativity of 3Dom and his astonishing touch has produced one of the finest pieces in Bristol this year, in one of the finest spots. Long live 3Dom and long live peace.

4301. Brunel Way (146)

This is another stunning tribute to the honour and bravery of the people and government of Ukraine in the face of an invasion directed by the Russian dictator Putin. Maybe Paints, to give him his full moniker, is without doubt going from strength to strength and is grabbing the attention of the Bristol community, as evidenced in this lovely interview he recently gave to Bristol 24/7 which is well worth a listen.

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2022
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2022

This column piece (he talks about columns a lot in the interview) is in his favoured Brunel Way location, and features two face profiles, in the colours of the Ukrainian flag, looking at each other, with the sun, the earth and the moon between them in an inky black starry sky. His techniques include the use of stencils, and a ‘secret’ method for creating the planets. I have enjoyed following his progress over the last year, and am excited about what he has in store for us in the future.

4300. Sparke Evans Park (35)

Never far from our thoughts is the suffering of a nation at the hands of the dictator Putin. As one might expect, the war in the Ukraine has prompted a great many artists to express their own feelings about the situation in their own way. This is a perfect illustration of how street art and graffiti act as a visual chronicle of our times, marking historic moments through art and interpretation.

Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2022
Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2022

This piece is a remarkably powerful one, and quite unlike anything I have seen before from the artist, Laic217. I am guessing that as a Pole, Laic217 feels particularly close to the unfolding events in Eastern Europe. This epic piece illustrating the brave and proud resistance by Ukraine and its citizens simply says ‘Glory to Ukraine’. I will go along with that.

4299. M32 roundabout J3 (391)

Kool Hand is an interesting artist who appears to have returned to Bristol after spending a while in London. I’m not sure if that piece of information is correct, but I base it on where he was posting his work on hisd Instagram account. Whatever, he is definitely now in Bristol and painting like there was no tomorrow.

Kool Hand, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022
Kool Hand, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022

Kool Hand has been broadening his portfolio considerably lately, adding to his trademark Orangutan ‘stamp’. I believe this piece is based on an axolotl (a newt-like creature from Mexico, that you can keep as a pet). The six fronds around the head represent the gills of the axolotl. This piece certainly stands out and grabs the attention and continues the development of content for the artist. Pretty in pink.

4298. Brigstocke Road (2)

There seem to be an extraordinarily large number of roadworks happening around the city at the moment (I put it down to council year-end spending), and my journeys to street art spots are being somewhat disrupted. Mostly this is an irritation, but in this instance I was diverted down a road I rarely drive along, and my prize was finding this magnificent Kosc piece that I have known about for a while, but just wasn’t too sure where it was.

Kosc, Brigstocke Road, Bristol, March 2022
Kosc, Brigstocke Road, Bristol, March 2022

Kosc has been knocking it out of the park lately with his distinctive black and white portraits set on a vibrant scarlet-orange background. This is a fabulous portrait of Lady G, Angela Frances, about whom I know precious little and am unable to find anything on the Interweb. The BS2 refers to the Bristol post code that covers much of the St Paul’s area, including Brigstocke Road.

Kosc, Brigstocke Road, Bristol, March 2022
Kosc, Brigstocke Road, Bristol, March 2022

Finding pieces like this, that are off the beaten track, is one of the most rewarding things about photographing and cataloguing street art, and this left a very large smile on my face.

4297. M32 roundabout J3 (390)

Chill is now a firmly established member of the PWA (Pirate Wall Art) crew, which is a very good thing indeed, and he manages to get out and paint with them as he did with this collaborative wall recently.

Chill, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022
Chill, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022

Chill’s black and white old-school comic style characters are a breath of fresh air and quite unique. This is a lovely piece with quite a lot going on. There is reference to NFTs (Non-fungible token – a modern concept that I struggle to grasp) and the story seems to be about food and money and affordability. As ever, Chill’s artwork is outstanding and he manages to ‘draw’ his black lines with great sharpness and tone. Another fun piece from Chill.

4296. M32 roundabout J3 (389)

At the second attempt, I managed to get a couple of shots of this wonderful piece from Merny. My first effort was scuppered by shadows cast on the piece from the bushes. The first rule of street art photography is to try to pick an overcast day, unless the walls you are photographing are not compromised by shadows or in shadow.

Merny, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022
Merny, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022

Merny is continuing his themed work featuring a person in an everyday situation with a caption and some point labels with numbers or letters in them. In this piece a lady with an iPad is looking at her screen and saying ‘oh dear’. Her utterance could be in response to any number of things, and the clever thing about this piece is that it requires the viewer to fill I the gaps and write their own story. The story for me is the Ukraine war. That could be me hovering over my iPad searching out the latest news. Another excellent piece from Merny.

Corupt

A gallery of outstanding writing from Bristol artist Corupt, aka Stick

Instagram: @dis3kt

all photographs by Scooj

Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol November 2021
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol November 2021
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2021
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2021
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2021
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2021
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2021
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2021
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2021
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2021
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2020
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2020
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2020
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2020
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2020
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2020
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2019
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2019
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2019
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2019
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2019
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2019
Corupt, Raleigh Road, Bristol, January 2018
Corupt, Raleigh Road, Bristol, January 2018
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2018
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2018
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2018
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2018